I have read with respect all the comments on this forum about Valentina Lisitsa and, as normal, I see that no pianist ever seems to please everyone in all respects which is fair enough and keeps the art form interesting. The overall take is good though - respect and admiration which I say are well deserved.

I admit that I know Val personally only to reveal a few insights about this wonder of the piano. I was married to a concert-trained pianist and had more than one also in my extended family. I have messed around with piano myself (even had lessons !) sufficient to understand its challenges. I've seen live concerts by Moura Lympany, Fou T'song, Peter Katin and the lesser known Janusz Stechley all of whom had much to excite me - of all I found Moura Lympany (then I think in her 60s) very impressive - but Val created a total eclipse of them all at the Wigmore Hall last Saturday when she performed a tremendous program which included Rachmaninoff, Beethoven, Schumann and Liszt.

This was an unforgettable experience and the normally reserved Wigmore audience were clearly stirred, they even cheered at the end & Val had to do two encores, her Leibestraum in particular carrying pure emotion and I'd have been glad just to be there for that alone.

During her Rossini-Thalberg Fantasy on Barber of Seville I actually felt transported to various places such as a summer forest at one point, a warm beach with sun and sangria at another, so glorious and evocative were the sounds she produced. Her Appassionata was an exercise in proving this great piece had not been hackneyed after all - in Val's hands it was both intellectually pleasing and exciting at the same time.

Her Liszt Totentanz had my heart racing and indeed I laughed along with other members of the audience around me at the sheer wonder of it all.

For the technophiles here are a few insights - only my own of course - I sat right beside Val as she rehearsed and noticed that she has at the same time incredible relaxation and intense concentration. She has developed her natural pianism to harness athleticism with great control and I notice that her rather "Beethoven-esque" clarity and integrity tends to come through when playing composers like Liszt whom some might construe as rather vulgar. I love this aspect of Val's playing and was intrigued to hear great flowing continuity in fast Appassionata passages while observing that her feet were either on the left pedal only or off both of them except a touch of the right one on particular chords. She is truly electrifying. For the extreme technophiles I quote the reaction of my friend Marek, "I was MESMERISED - I would never have thought such playing was humanly possible !".

I'm totally behind Valentina Lisitsa as well. She has never failed to impress me both technically or musically, and she tends to bring something new and exciting, but not at all insufficient to her interpretations.

Musically she has given me more than any other pianist, singer or band for that matter. I'll be forever thankful for that and, again, I'm totally behind her.

_________________"To talk about music is very difficult, what music does to one, you know..." - Martha Argerich."

There are so many fine pianists out there currently, and it seems like only those who played in public for decades are the ones you still hear about after they're dead. She may be considered one of the 'greats' if she has a long career. I think Kissin is a 'great' right now, though.

_________________"Simplicity is the highest goal, achievable when you have overcome all difficulties." ~ Frederic Chopin

It always makes me look up, because when I see the word naked, I have to find out who and where... and when I see the word banana next to it...

Well... I'm a teenager. That's to be expected of me... right?

_________________"This is death! This is death as this emanation of the female which leads to unification ... death and love ... this is the abyss." This is not music", said [Sabaneev] to him, "this is something else..." - "This is the Mysterium," he said softly.

.... might I respectfully steer this thread back to a "valid" topic: here it is.

If I were told I must cite other instrumentalists I like - not pianists - they would be Hilary Hahn (whom we've seen & will see again in Brussels, soon - Val's duo partner), Anne-Sophie Mutter and Evelyn Glennie.

I still stick by Val as my "tops" & of course we all have those & I accept that appreciation of the arts is subjective.

I'd like to challenge the forum:

State your preferred or most hated pianist, then choose up to three works of art that correspond to that (the works of art can be paintings or sculptures for example) and explain why.

Here is an example: Lang Lang corresponds to "The Scream" (need I say more

A painting of a peeled banana might well correspond to a pianist but do let's see who defends that position ...

But... to get back on topic... Rachmaninoff as a pianist reminds me of a naked banana... the reason of course being that in his playing he bares his inner soul to use, removing the outer shell... or banana peel. Besides, bananas are long and thin... Rachmaninoff was something like 6'6" or something like that, and really skinny...

Damn... I just compared one of my favorite composers/pianists/conductors to a banana...

_________________"This is death! This is death as this emanation of the female which leads to unification ... death and love ... this is the abyss." This is not music", said [Sabaneev] to him, "this is something else..." - "This is the Mysterium," he said softly.

When I hear the phrase "off topic", it somehow makes me think of "hot pockets."

If it weren't for the fact that I don't like them... I'd go eat one now.

But I'd rather eat a naked banana...

How's that for off-topic?

_________________"This is death! This is death as this emanation of the female which leads to unification ... death and love ... this is the abyss." This is not music", said [Sabaneev] to him, "this is something else..." - "This is the Mysterium," he said softly.

Two of my favorite pianists are Kissin and Zimmerman. But i can't think of any artwork that I can connect to them. So instead, and even though he is dead, I'll go with my all-time favorite musician, Chopin. One of my favorite artists is Renoir, and the following two paintings are how I connect paintings with Chopin. (may be a bit of a stretch, but so what)

In this one, I am the woman and Chopin is looking up at me in adoration.

In the second one, he is leading me to a secret rendezvous place for some....(can't say)

_________________"Simplicity is the highest goal, achievable when you have overcome all difficulties." ~ Frederic Chopin

(I can't explain why I feel this urge to bring up the banana again... I just do )

_________________"This is death! This is death as this emanation of the female which leads to unification ... death and love ... this is the abyss." This is not music", said [Sabaneev] to him, "this is something else..." - "This is the Mysterium," he said softly.

LOL ... everytime I see your signature, it makes me want to post Bach ... Not only would it knock your powdered wig off, the collective intact of breath from Bach purists may cause high altitude sickness amongst fellow PS'ers.

_________________the one, the only ... Nathan Coleman"You see, my piano is for me what his ship is to a sailor; more indeed: it is my very self, my mother tongue, my life." - Franz Liszt

I didn't draw this picture... some random guy on Deviant Art did... I was just browsing around and I found it...

AND...

To bring up the naked banana again...

There. I just did.

_________________"This is death! This is death as this emanation of the female which leads to unification ... death and love ... this is the abyss." This is not music", said [Sabaneev] to him, "this is something else..." - "This is the Mysterium," he said softly.

Cilantro is disgusting. I washed my car yesterday. Sometimes, it rains when the sun is shining. How now, brown cow? Silk comes from a worm's behind. Just 353 shopping days till Christmas! Bananas are a high glycemic-index food. Honey is concentrated bee vomit. Pigs are usually smarter than dogs.
You will go on a diet and end up gaining weight. Stop, think, Tylenol. Have you driven a Ford, lately? VHS is obsolete. Two and two are four. Sorry, but our princess is in another castle! Two wrongs don't make a right, three lefts do. No I'm doesn't. "You had it set to M for mini, when you should've had it set to W for wumbo." I'm a very good driver. Ken Jennings is Mormon. Hydrophilic contact lenses usually are well tolerated. Do not drive or operate heavy machinery or perform other dangerous tasks, until you know how you'll react to Ambien-CR. The wealthiest man in the world is Bill Gates. All the gold ever mined would fit into a cube 50 feet on each side. Diamonds are a girl's best friend. The end is near. All's well that ends well.

If I were a woman I would totally dissappear in the woods for a little while with Rachmaninoff...

Just thought I'd bring this thread slightly back on topic... but still rather... off.

_________________"This is death! This is death as this emanation of the female which leads to unification ... death and love ... this is the abyss." This is not music", said [Sabaneev] to him, "this is something else..." - "This is the Mysterium," he said softly.

Valentina Lisitsa is truly one of those giants, IMO. History will prove her right, I think. Every time I see her, I literally gasp.

Back on topic

You are absolutely right. I heard her last year with Hilary Hahn, and was astonished. My reactions to that concert are posted somewhere else in this forum. The best younger pianist I've heard in years. She was such a hit, they're bringing her back with her husband Alexi Kuznetsoff; check out this program, which I have the honor of giving the pre-concert lecture for!

To go back on topic for a moment - I saw Valentina perform at the Bosendorfer salon in New York last fall. I guess she's been touring with the same program for a while. She played:
3 or 4 Rachmaninoff Etudes and Preludes (including THE etude)
Beethoven Appassionata
Rossini-Thalberg Fantasy
Liszt Totentanz

To be honest, it wasn't that good. The Rachmaninoff pieces were well played but nothing exceptional (and she played the A minor Etude way more safely than in her crazy Youtube video). The Beethoven was filled with wrong notes and fragmentary playing. The Thalberg had moments of impressive virtuosity, but I could tell she was still playing it safe in a lot of places, at the expense of the structure of the piece. Likewise with the Liszt, plus numerous missed notes. The Liszt was still impressive, because it's a crazy piece, but still, I wasn't satisfied with it. I talked with her after the performance, and she said it was very challenging playing on the piano, because it was a concert-size Bosendorfer (without the extra keys) and was thus very loud, in a salon of about 40 people. It seemed like these pieces were all new to her, and maybe she hadn't REALLY learned them fully by the time she performed at the Bosendorfer salon. With such a small venue I can see how you wouldn't take it as seriously as Carnegie Hall.

I still put her on my extended list of favorite pianists on the merits of her performance of Rachmaninoff Op. 39 No. 6, which I consider the best performance of the piece I've ever heard (better than the composer himself), but I think Valentina still may need a little more seasoning before she reaches her true potential.

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